Approaches to series arcs

[Daniel]

It seems that books in a series generally outperform standalone books, so I've been thinking lately about different ways to approach a series. I'm curious to know what others have tried or heard about.

So far, I've come up with the following...

1. Predetermined number of volumes and predefined series arc

This is the classic approach to a trilogy or any other -logy where you know in advance how many volumes there will be, and you have a plan for a series arc that concludes in the final book.

2. Standalone volumes set in the same story world with the same main character(s)

A lot of thriller and detective series seem to take this approach. You may have threads that start in one book and end in another, but those threads are not essential, and reading the books out of order is not a problem.

3. Undetermined number of volumes with a multi-volume series arc

This is the approach I'm taking with my Western Fantasy. The main character deals with one main crisis in each book, but all of those crises derive from the same source. You can "tie off" the series at any time by publishing a story that concludes the series arc for better or worse. The Sherlock Holmes stories were individual tales, but the battle against Moriarty was a common thread that tied them together and brought the series to its conclusion. I think it was Russel Blake who most recently got me thinking about this approach with his "many lines in the water" theory.

4. Undetermined number of volumes with strong plot ties from one story to the next

This approach seems to be the rage right now with novella and novelette series. The books often end in a cliffhanger that gets resolved in the next book, which ends in a cliffhanger that gets resolved in the next book, and so on. In a sense, the author has written an incomplete story that is finished in the next volume, which also begins a new incomplete story.

Does anyone have other examples? Please share them!


ETA: Oops. Forgot an obvious one that my wife uses...

5. Undetermined number of volumes set in a common story world but with different main characters.

Many romance authors use this approach. The individual stories are set in the same story world, but each story focuses on different main characters. Characters from previous volumes often make cameo appearances. The series may or may not have a common plot thread that connects them all in sequence.

[Miss Terri Novelle]

Anne McCaffrey's Pern series did a variation of #5 blended with #1 and #2. Within the entire arc of the story, there was the first trilogy with it's own story arc. Another trilogy set within that same time frame but featuring another character. Several single books featuring different main characters within the same time period and story arc. Then there were some prequel type books. In once case, there were 2 books set at a particular time period in the mid history of her world that examined a single event from two different perspectives. Then there is an entire series set in the same world but at another period in its history that she wrote with her son.

I don't know if you would qualify that as a sixth option.

[Daniel]

Mar 2, 2015 10:39:45 GMT -5 Miss Terri Novelle said:

Anne McCaffrey's Pern series did a variation of #5 blended with #1 and #2. Within the entire arc of the story, there was the first trilogy with it's own story arc. Another trilogy set within that same time frame but featuring another character. Several single books featuring different main characters within the same time period and story arc. Then there were some prequel type books. In once case, there were 2 books set at a particular time period in the mid history of her world that examined a single event from two different perspectives. Then there is an entire series set in the same world but at another period in its history that she wrote with her son.

I don't know if you would qualify that as a sixth option.

Yes! That does suggest a sixth option...

6. Shared story world

The series has a shared story world, like with the Star Trek, Star Wars, and Forgotten Realms (among others.) Participating writers (or a single writer) create standalone books, trilogies, and other intermediate arcs at various points on the historical timeline and in various locations within the story world. Sometimes they reuse characters, and other times they create new characters. The common plot thread throughout all of the stories is the historical arc of the story world.


This is more less what I intend to do with the Vaetra Chronicles. I've written a trilogy in that story world, but future books might be anything: a prequel, another trilogy, a serial, whatever. The story world will be the common element. I think Andrew does something like this.

[mlhearing]

You might find something useful here. This guy seems to be pretty successful with episodic series.

[ameliasmith]

I think your categories cover pretty much everything, but my own series arc structure is a bit of a mess. It's currently a trilogy (starting with book 3) and two prequels, with another prequel short story and a possibility of more related short stories to come. So, you can have a strictly planned series with its arc plus related stories in the same world.

[Daniel]

Mar 9, 2015 10:29:26 GMT -5 ameliasmith said:

I think your categories cover pretty much everything, but my own series arc structure is a bit of a mess. It's currently a trilogy (starting with book 3) and two prequels, with another prequel short story and a possibility of more related short stories to come. So, you can have a strictly planned series with its arc plus related stories in the same world.

You choice of the term "mess" gave me food for thought. What you described is basically #6, which is where I'm headed with the Vaetra Chronicles.

However, I'm not sure how I should proceed. I have ideas for prequels and stand-alone stories, but I don't want readers to get confused about which book to read first. (A confused mind takes no action.) I believe publication date would probably work as well as anything for a reading order, because one thing I know for sure is that I will write all future volumes in an order that makes sense from a reading standpoint.

The trick will be making it clear somehow that Volume 4 does not necessarily pick up where the original trilogy left off. I could use a different series name, but then the books wouldn't display together. Hmm. This is going to take some serious thought.

ETA: Eddings released two contiguous pentalogies, giving each a different series name (The Belgariad and The Malloreon) and then followed them up with standalone novels Belgarath the Sorcerer, Polgara the Sorceress, and The Rivan Codex. He labeled the Belgarath novel "The Prequel to the Belgariad." In a sense, he used his name as the common factor that tied all of the books together.

[ameliasmith]

For a long time, my plan was to release them as Anamat books 1-5, but book 1 has kind of tanked -- low sales and tepid reviews. Now I'm considering a sort of relaunch with book 3, which is the beginning of the trilogy, where each book follows right after the other. At the moment I have that part (formerly books 3-5) tentatively titled The Fall of Anamat, so we have the place name connecting the two series as well as the covers etc. I have a few months to make up my mind, though, because at this rate it will be September-October or later before I get book 3 out.